1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to container closures, more specifically the present invention relates to push-pull type container closures for sports water bottles and the like.
2. Prior Art
The prior art discloses a wide variety of push-pull type container closures. Representative samples are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,104,008; 5,265,777; 5,096,077; and 5,429,255. Additionally, the prior art discloses a wide variety of closures incorporating tamper-evident bands. Examples of appropriate tamper-evident bands can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,259,522; 4,418,828; and 4,497,765. However, the prior art does not provide a push-pull type container closure with an effective tamper-evident band in meaningful locations on the push-pull type container. Furthermore, many of the push-pull type container closures of the prior art are difficult to manufacture and do not effectively guarantee complete resealing of the closure during operation. For example, one common type of push-pull closure is referred to as a sports top. Many existing sports tops use a "shrink" or "cello" sleeve to additionally be applied for the purpose of tamper evidence. This causes additional cost, added capital, and decreasing operating efficiencies.